Plateful Of Sausages

Europe

Finland

Nakkikastike is a common Finnish dish that is made with sauteed nakki sausages. The sausages are covered by a thick, brown sauce and seasoned with tomato paste, onions, carrots, and cream. Nakki is a mild Finnish sausage.

The traditional recipe does not include tomato paste but it is added for a more robust flavor. Various herbs and spices can be added or even mushrooms to the sauce. The dish is served with mashed or boiled potatoes but can also be accompanied by fresh or cooked vegetables or pasta.

The UK

Battered sausage is a simple dish where the sausage is dipped in batter and then deep-fried in hot oil. This dish is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. In the UK sausages are often dipped in the same batter as fish and also served with chips.

In Ireland, in County Meath that sausages are split after frying and filled with onions and drizzled with ketchup.

England

Cumberland Sausage is a sausage that is long and coil-shaped. It is an English delicacy that is pink in color and made from seasoned pork and has a coarse texture. The sausage can consist of ground pork meat, rusk, water or ice, and seasonings and spices like pepper, salt, thyme, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper.

Cumberland sausage must be made in the county of Cumberland using traditional methods. It makes for hearty suppers when roasted with Cumberland sauce, potato mash, and fresh watercress on the side.

Scotland

Stornoway Black Pudding sausage has a deep red to deep brown color when raw. The ingredients used to make the sausage include good quality beef suet, oatmeal, onions, pig's, cow's or sheep's blood, water, salt, pepper, and sausage casings. No other seasonings are allowed.

When the sausage is cooked it is almost black but retains its shape. Inside it is moist, full, and savory with no lumps of fat.

Northern Ireland

Vegetable Roll is a beef product that is shaped like a large sausage. It is highly seasoned with fresh herbs and spring onions. Whether it is fried or sliced or grilled the vegetable roll is a staple of Ulster Fry. It can be served on its own or with mashed potatoes and beans for dinner.

France

Saucisson brioche is a specialty in France origination in Lyon. This dish is a whole sausage that has been coated in pistachios and baked inside a brioche loaf. The saucisson is a large, thick sausage. The dough is less sweet and egg-rich than the usual breakfast brioche.

The combination of sausage and brioche is baked in the oven until the loaf is golden brown. It is served warm cut into slices. It is nice when accompanied by a glass of Beaujolais.

Boudin noir aux pommes is a traditional French dish that is prepared with blook sausage and apples. The blood sausage is fried in oil and then chopped apples are fried in the same oil. The sausage is served on top of the apples.

Germany

Gruenkohl and Pinkel is a typical winter dish from Northern Germany. The dish consists of finely chopped kale that is cooked with lard and onions. Then smoked sausage consisting of pork meat, and grits that are known as Pinkel are added. The dish is usually served with boiled or fried potatoes. The dish is commonly accompanied by local beer or wine.

Lyoner wurst is a parboiled German sausage that is prepared with pork, bacon, garlic and a variety of spices. Sometimes beef can be added, After the par-boiling process the sausage is hot smoked and both ends are tied with a string giving it a horseshoe ring shape.

The name of the sausage comes from the French city of Lyon. Lyoner wurst is often referred to as German bologna or garlicky bologna outside of Germany.

Presskopf wurst is a variety of German head cheese that is prepared with pork or calf head meat, rinds, bacon, pork heart, and at times pork blood or pork muscle meat. It is flavored with garlic, onions, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and sugar and filled into sausage casings.

The word presskopf means pressed head in German and refers to the method of pressing the sausage after the scalding process.

Poland

Kielbasa wedzona is a type of traditional Polish smoked kielbasa. The sausage is made with ground pork that is cured before it's seasoned with salt, pepper, sugar, garlic, and marjoram. The prepared meat mixture is put into a large ring-shaped casing and cold smoked for 1 to 1.5 days. However, now it is usually hot smoked because it allows for faster cooking of the sausage.

Another version of this authentic sausage introduced by the Polish government in 1964 is a sausage that is a mix of 80% pork and 20% beef, The classic kielbasa is usually baked, grilled or added to traditional Polish soups.

Kielbasa Polska is one of the most traditional Polish sausages that follows an age-old sausage-making method. The sausage is prepared with lean pork, semi-fat pork, sugar, garlic, and spices like pepper, marjoram, ground mustard seeds, and thyme. The mixture is combined and chilled before being stuffed into the pork casings.

Kielbasa Polska are often smoked lightly and left to dry and mature for a few days. The sausage can be eaten raw or cooked and served with pickled vegetables, onions, beetroot, horseradish, mustard, and bread on the side.

Romania

Caltabos is a Romanian liver-based pork sausage. These sausages are traditionally prepared during the winter holiday season. Caltabos are a homemade specialty so there is no actual recipe for them. Besides liver, the sausage can include other types of offal like heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

All of the ingredients are boiled with garlic and bay leaves and then minced and mixed with meat, caramelized onions, spices and (optionally) rice. Caltabos unlike other Romanian sausages are not fried but boiled. They are served cold with bread and raw onions or pickles on the side.

Legend has it that Cotechino sausages first appeared in the winter of 1511 in Mirandola. The city was under siege by the troop of Pope Julius II. In order to save what little they had from the wartime pillage and plunder the residents of Mirandola decided to slaughter their pigs and finely grind the meat seasoning it with salt and pepper and stuffing it into the pork casings.

The sausage became a big success and soon traditional recipes appeared in the 1700s. Today Cotechino Modena sausages are produced all over the Emilia-Romagna regions and are traditionally available around Christmas and New Year's.

Croatia

Češnjovka is a traditional Croatian sausage made from pork. Since the sausage has a lot of garlic it is slightly spicy. The name of the sausage can be translated to garlic sausage. In the city of Samobor cesnjovka is a popular local specialty and is often eaten with the city's own mustard, Samborska mustarda is sold across the city in ceramic pots. During the winter cesnjovska is popular in central and northern Croatia and is sold at food stands accompanied by sauerkraut or mulled wine.

Slovakia

Spišské párky is a smoked sausage that comes in sheep intestine casings that are separated by twisting, The sausage has been produced for over a century in the Slovak Republic and was first made during the visit of Hungarian nobility for the grand fair held at Spis Castle. At the fair, the local butcher sold spisske sausage and got people to enjoy his specialty.

Traditional recipe prepares the sausage with fresh beef, fresh pork, pork rind, and spices like sweet and hot paprika giving the sausages their pinkish-red color. The stuffed sausages are hung in a smoke room to dry and when ready have a unique aroma and flavor.

Greece

Spetsofai is a rustic dish that comes from the Thessaly region. The dish uses sausages known as loukaniko and bell peppers all sliced into larger chunks and smothered in a rich tomato sauce. The dish is commonly made spicier with hot peppers during the winter months.

This dish is tavern food all across Central Greece and if enjoyed as a main course it is accompanied by rice, potatoes, or feta cheese on country-style bread.

Italy

Salsiccia di Bra is a traditional sausage that originated in Bra in Cuneo, Italy. The recipe is actually a secret but certified producers say that the cylindrical sausage always has the right amount of lean veal, pig's fat, sea salt, white pepper, cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg.

Other ingredients that can be added to enhance the flavor are fennel, garlic, cheese, leeks, white wine, and prosecco or sparkling wine for Christmas. The mix of ingredients is stuffed into a small ram's gut. Salsiccia di Bra is traditionally eaten fresh and raw with a splash of lemon juice as part of antipasti or as a snack during apperitivo (pre-dinner drink.)

Salama da Sugo is an Italian pork sausage that dates back to pre-Rennaisance times. Today it is still exclusively produced in the Emilia-Romagna region in the province of Ferrara. The sausage is a combination of various cuts of pork like neck, neck fat, belly, liver, and tongue.

The meat is finely minced and seasoned with salt, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and red wine. The mixture is stuffed into pork casings and tightly bound with twine and left to age for about 6 to 9 months, Salama da Sugo has a very spicy flavor. It comes in two varieties crada (raw) and cotta (cooked).

Cyprus

Sheftalia is a traditional Cypriot sausage that is a mix of minced pork and lamb, chopped red onion, and parsley wrapped in caul fat, a thin fatty membrane lining the stomach of cows, sheep, and pigs, The meat is seasoned with salt, pepper, and cinnamon and formed into small sausages that are skewered and grilled.

Asia

Laos

Sai oua is a spicy pork sausage combined with local herbs and spices, It is popular in Laos and northern Thailand. The sausage is usually accompanied by another regional favorite - sticky rice.

The sausage is a combination of ground pork shoulder, shallots, lemongrass, chillies, kaffir, lime leaves, and garlic stuffed into a natural casing. Some recipes include padael. a special kind of fish sauce made in Laos.

Lebanon

Makanek are small Lebanese sausages made with lamb, beef, or a combination of both. The sausages are flavored with cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, pine nuts, vinegar, and white wine. The ground meat and spices are stuffed into sheep casings.

Makanek sausages are fried or grilled and traditionally accompanied by pomegranate molasses.

Vietnam

Chả bò is a traditional Vietnamese sausage. The sausage is a combination of fresh lean beef, spices, seasonings, and fish sauce. The beef is ground then seasoned and wrapped in banana leaves and steamed or fried.

The banana leaves give flavor to the cooked sausage, Among the popular seasonings are garlic, lemongrass, black peppercorns, chilli, shallots, and coconut milk. When ready cha bo is served sliced as an appetizer and is accompanied by bread and nuroc cham a dipping sauce.

Africa

Kenya

Mutura is a Kenyan sausage that is stuffed in goat intestines. It is a combination of ground meat, goat blood, and seasonings like ginger, garlic, coriander, and piri-piri chillies. Traditionally it is boiled and then grilled to dehydrate the meat and give it a smoky flavor. It is best accompanied by drinking cold beer.

South Africa

Droëwors is a South African dried jerky sausage based on the popular boerewors sausage. The sausage is a combination of beef or mutton with sheep tail fat, coriander, vinegar, and various spices. It can be flavored with garlic or chilli peppers.

The thin sausages are dried quickly. Sometimes pork and veal is used instead of beef. The traditional droewors has a long shelf life and can be frozen for months. It is usually eaten as a snack.

Australia

Barbecue snags are thick Australian sausages that have a mild flavor and are a combination of beef, pork, garlic, and onions. They have become a staple of almost every Australian barbecue party. The sausages are accompanied by mashed potatoes, grilled onions, tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, salads, chutney and loaves of artisanal bread.

Today you can also find snags with such gourmet fillings as lamb and rosemary, chicken and cheese, or beef and red wine.